» Hand Hygiene Research Protocols

The purpose of this CIHR-funded Hand Hygiene Research Project is to provide guidance to decision makers throughout the health care system with the understanding and tools necessary for the development and successful
implementation of hand hygiene improvement programs in healthcare. A better understanding of knowledge and attitudes towards hand hygiene and of barriers and incentives to adherence to practice recommendations can be used to begin a process of changing social attitudes towards hand hygiene and thus reduce morbidity and mortality from hospital-acquired infection.

Please click on the links below to view our protocols for the CIHR-funded Hand Hygiene Research Project.

» Hand Hygiene Advisory Board Meetings

Our first advisory board meeting for the CIHR-funded Hand Hygiene Research
Project was held in Toronto at Mount Sinai Hospital on December 11 2006 to
review and discuss the results of the systematic literature reviews on the
factors/barriers associated with hand hygiene adherence in healthcare settings,
the efficacy of hand hygiene practice for the prevention of nosocomial infections,
and behavioral change models for healthcare workers.

Our next advisory board meeting is expected to be in Summer 2008.

Please click on the links below to view minutes and presentations from the Advisory Board Meeting

» Hand Hygiene Survey and Preliminary Analysis

The Hand Hygiene Survey, jointly conducted by the Mount Sinai Infectious Diseases Research Team and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, was developed to assess the status of hand hygiene adherence and hand hygiene initiatives in healthcare organizations across Canada to help organizations with what initiatives are the most effective, and to help us understand what types of support would be most useful.

The Hand Hygiene Survey was available on the Community and Infection Control Association (CHICA) website from April to May 2007 and 171 CHICA members participated in the survey. In June 2007 the survey was send out to Infection Control Practitioners and Directors of Nursing in all hospitals within Canada and currently 400 healthcare workers have participated in the survey.

Please click on the links below to view the Hand Hygiene Survey and preliminary results for the survey.

» Contacts

Please feel free to contact the Hand Hygiene Research Project Coordinator, Ms. Gomana Youssef at 416-586-4800 ext. 2767 or gyoussef@mtsinai.on.ca if you have any comments, questions, or require additional information.